Chapter 17: Acid Splash

Gao De entered meditation once more, his mind sinking into the sea of magical stars.

The first starlet was successfully fixed as the origin.

Captured the second starlet, began movement, coordinates (4/3, 1, 1/4).

Captured the third starlet, began movement, coordinates (2, 3/2, -1/4). The second starlet shifted, coordinates changed to (4/3, 9/8, 1/4). Corrected the position of the second starlet. Correction complete.

Fourth starlet, coordinates. The third starlet shifted, began correction. Correction complete.

Damn, focused too much on the third starlet—the first starlet shifted. The first starlet’s position drifted. Attempted correction. Abandoned correction. Failed.

Gao De exited meditation with a sigh, rubbing his temples as he thought.

This attempt to construct the spell model had been proceeding smoothly according to his plan, but when the first starlet drifted, he halted the attempt.

Because a problem he hadn’t considered had emerged.

The first starlet served as the origin; all other starlets’ coordinates were built relative to it.

While other starlets could be corrected by referencing the origin, what if the first starlet itself drifted? The first starlet had no reference point—it couldn’t be adjusted like the others. One could deduce the (0,0,0) position from the unchanged starlets, but then a new problem arose: without the origin as reference, how could one be sure the other starlets hadn’t also drifted? Wouldn’t that mean starting over entirely?

Gao De did not abandon his idea because of this.

Problems arise—solve them.

Regardless, his approach to constructing spell models was far more efficient than the old method: only when the first starlet drifted did he need to restart; in all other cases, he could correct drifting starlets and continue building.

But this exception annoyed him deeply.

If it were just a cantrip, it wouldn’t matter—cantrip models had at most ten starlets; restarting was no big deal.

But if it were a first-circle spell, or even a second-circle spell, with dozens or hundreds of starlets, and after completing most of the model, the first starlet’s drift forced a complete restart—that would drive one mad.

“If only I could find a fixed point,” Gao De muttered.

But in the sea of magical stars, there was nothing but starlets and spell models—and starlets moved randomly. Where could he find a fixed point?

Fixed point… fixed point…

“Wait!” In a flash of insight, Gao De seized a crucial point: “Besides starlets and spell models, the sea of magical stars holds nothing else. But other people’s seas don’t have this—my sea has something else!”

His eyes suddenly brightened!

“Wind Spirit Moon Shadow!” Yes—that was it.

Gao De didn’t know the origin of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, but it hung motionless at the very center of his magical star sea, radiating a pure, luminous glow.

Not moving at all.

Wasn’t this a ready-made origin? Gao De picked up his charcoal pencil and redrew the coordinates of the nine nodes of the Acid Splash spell model.

Using Wind Spirit Moon Shadow as the new origin, the first starlet was no longer treated as the origin; its coordinates were no longer (0,0,0). Gao De set them to (1,1,1), using it as a uniform scale for the model.

Then, on this basis, he calculated the second starlet’s coordinates as (7/3, 2, 5/4), the third starlet’s coordinates as… Soon, the new nine coordinates were listed on the spell formula.

He spent several minutes memorizing these nine triplets, gritting his teeth against the slight throbbing in his head, and entered meditation for the third time to construct the Acid Splash spell model.

He stared at the radiant Wind Spirit Moon Shadow and captured the first drifting starlet around it.

Using Wind Spirit Moon Shadow as reference, the first starlet was successfully moved to (1,1,1). Second starlet (7/3, 2, 5/4). Third starlet. Fourth starlet. Second starlet’s coordinates drifted—began correction. Correction complete. Continued capturing the fifth starlet. Fifth starlet successfully moved to its coordinate. First starlet drifted—began correction. Gao De was fully immersed in constructing the spell model, like solving an intriguing math problem, slipping into a state of flow, even forgetting the throbbing ache in his head from depleted mental energy.

Sixth starlet. Seventh starlet. Eighth starlet. Corrected the drifted sixth starlet. Moved the ninth starlet to its coordinate. All nine starlets in place—began “linking.” Following the optimized steps, Gao De proceeded methodically.

Mental energy flowed from the first starlet, extending to connect the second.

Since all nine starlets were already fixed in place, there was no need to drag unruly ones into position—the “star trails” connected with astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, Gao De’s mental energy linked all nine starlets together.

Instantly, a dazzling star trail appeared between the nine radiant starlets.

The trail glowed faintly with starlight, beginning at the first starlet, stretching a long luminous streak that pierced through all nine.

Star trail formed—the spell model manifested! A brand-new constellation-like spell model appeared in Gao De’s magical star sea.

The instant the spell model was completed, Gao De sensed he had gained a mysterious power.

“Success? Did I really succeed?”

Even though he believed his optimized method surpassed the traditional one, he never expected it to work so smoothly—success on the second attempt.

Normally, for a novice like him with little cultivation time, mastering a cantrip took at least half a year, up to a year.

Even seasoned apprentice mages like Ceda needed over a month to master a single cantrip.

Yet now, he had spent only… one day! This rate of spell learning was only possible for a full mage.

And Gao De, by the mage hierarchy, was still a Level One Apprentice—the lowest rank.

—The apprentice stage was divided into three levels: Level One, Level Two, Level Three.

Apprentice levels were far simpler than those of full mages, determined solely by mana and mental energy.

Take the meditation technique as an example.

Manifesting a lotus petal or more, and being able to cast one cantrip, qualified one as a Level One Apprentice; manifesting eight petals or more, and having enough mana to cast five cantrips in one breath, qualified one as a Level Two Apprentice; manifesting sixteen petals or more, and having enough mana to cast twenty cantrips in one breath, qualified one as a Level Three Apprentice.

From this, it was clear that even among apprentices, the gap between Level One and Level Three was as vast as heaven and earth.

“Test the effect!” Having successfully constructed the spell model and gained supernatural power, Gao De couldn’t wait to try the new spell.

“Acid Splash,” he murmured inwardly.

In that moment, his mana surged, rising instantly from his lower dantian, flowing into the magical star sea, racing along the newly formed Acid Splash model, transforming into new power, then rushing outward through his body, gathering at his right hand under his mental guidance.

A sphere of acid, the size of a bowl, appeared—now held loosely in his right palm.

Immediately, Gao De flicked his wrist, hurling it toward the far corner of the wall.

Sssss! The sphere struck the wall corner like a water-filled balloon punctured, instantly splattering. Where the acid touched, objects corroded immediately, sending up greenish smoke.

This scene lasted about three seconds, then the acid vanished as if evaporated, as if it had never been.

But the scorch marks on the floor and the faint corrosion on the wall proved the Acid Splash’s destructive power.

If acid could corrode wood and stone, how could human flesh resist? “Fascinating!” Gao De exclaimed, filled with delight and wonder.

Constructing a spell model was like solving a difficult math problem—difficult and exhausting in the process, but the euphoria upon solving it was addictive.

And the feedback from successfully constructing a spell model surpassed solving a math problem by tenfold, a hundredfold—each spell model represented a brand-new supernatural power.

“Next spell!” Gao De’s spirit soared, ready to construct another model—when suddenly, his vision went black. His body swayed involuntarily, nearly falling, followed by a hollow dizziness and pounding ache in his skull.

“Mental energy overexerted,” he realized belatedly.

Three spell model constructions in one night had completely drained his mental energy.

This depletion couldn’t be restored by meditation—it required rest.

Though desperate to master the other two spells, Gao De knew excess was worse than deficiency. He packed away the three spell formulas and returned to his room to rest.

(End of chapter)